Spaces

Case Studies

Amerisource Bergen Specialty Group
Frisco, Texas

Designing a space that not only addresses the issues of today, but also allows the space to be marketable for years to come is no easy task. But when ABSG (Amerisource Bergen Specialty Group), a $10 billion Amerisource Bergen subsidiary, built its 133,017 square-foot headquarters in Frisco, Texas, they had to do just that.

Traditional Construction vs. Haworth's Adaptable Workspace

The design team created two proposals for the redesign: the first based on traditional construction materials and processes and the second based on Haworth’s Adaptable Workspace strategy. Products included LifeSPACE walls, TecCrete floors, Power Web™ electrical power distribution, and PREMISE, LOOK, X99, Masters Series and Kinetics work systems, seating, and storage solutions.

The Bottom Line on Reconfigurations?

The average cost to remove and add a private office with conventional construction would exceed $18,000, while the LifeSPACE solution was projected at less than $2,000.

ABSG, a market-leading pharmaceutical services company, recognized great value in the ability to expand, consolidate, or even exit a space at the lowest possible level of investment, while still providing employees with a comfortable, high-performance working environment.

The design team invited ABSG’s management team to visit the recently completed Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation in Pittsburg, Texas, to see what Adaptable Workspaces looked like in a real-time business environment. ABSG liked what they saw – maximum flexibility and projectable efficiencies throughout the company’s occupancy of the space.

But they made it clear they would require a value proposition equivalent to or more than conventional construction if they chose AWS.

The design team created two proposals for the redesign: the first based on traditional construction materials and processes and the second based on Haworth’s Adaptable Workspace strategy. Products included LifeSPACE walls, TecCrete floors, Power Web™ electrical power distribution, and PREMISE, LOOK, X99, Masters Series and Kinetics work systems, seating, and storage solutions.

“The proposals were very close,” says Ric Nelson, Vice President of Development for Transwestern. “The AWS proposal came in less than it would have had we built it conventionally.

But when we gave the numbers to the ABSG’s CFO to run his churn rate, and he analyzed it with what he‘s used to paying for work station re-configurations, he found AWS a compelling value proposition.”

ABSG’s construction costs, fast track construction timeline, and high churn rate were all perfectly met by the flexibility of AWS. When compared side-by-side, the AWS solution’s upfront costs were less than conventional construction, and the timeline for the project was reduced by six weeks. In fact, when ABSG added nine private offices and redesigned 50% of the floor in the middle of the job, AWS was flexible enough to meet the original timeline—without additional labor costs. Conventional construction would have delayed the project several months, requiring additional demolition, rewiring, and re-carpeting that would have cost ABSG thousands of dollars.

The bottom line on reconfigurations? The average cost to remove and add a private office with conventional construction would exceed $18,000, while the LifeSPACE solution was projected at less than $2,000.

The team’s pre-construction comparison underscored the value/savings of choosing the AWS solution, which was also strongly supported by Turner Construction’s presentation. In the end, ABSG’s decision was based on financial sense as well as innovative products that met it’s organizational needs. In fact, ABSG was so pleased with the ongoing financial savings created by it, they decided to use it again in a new 80,000 sq. ft. facility.

“I believe that all of the top manufacturers are going to have to follow what they’ve done here as the standard for the future. Haworth and Spencer came in on time and within budget on a very fast track project. They provided us with a new solution and flexibility that lived up to everything they claimed.”

Harry Myers, Vice President of Operations, ABSG

Customer Profile

ABSG, a market-leading pharmaceutical services company, recognized great value in the ability to expand, consolidate, or even exit a space at the lowest possible level of investment, while still providing employees with a comfortable, high-performance working environment.